>I would have to agree with Robert Guralnick the Web sites are not true
>museums.  The internet has expanded the dissemination of information and
>the processs of reaching a greater audience, but in no way or shape will
>or should it replace the museum.  Web sites are important for
>communicating aspects of a museum, like advertising the existence of
>special collections or exhibitions, but they must and should not be seen
>as replacing the museum.  Museums are experiential places.  WE go for the
>unique the real the authentic artefacts.  This can not be replaced with
>technological innovations.
>
>The museum collection is a valuable historic resource, the Web museum
>pages can and should communicate this fundamental reality.
>
>Naomi Stiffelman

Gosh, one almost gets the feeling that some feel threatened by the advent
of web presentations...

I agree that museums and web sites are not the same thing, however a web
site has the potential to achieve the same complexity and value that a
'real' museum has.  Someday, many people will only have access to the
content of a 'real' museum electronically.  It is not reasonable to expect
that people from all over the world will have the resources available to
physically visit a particular museum.  Web sites offer us the opportunity
to reach these people in new and innovative ways.  There will always be a
place for the 'real' museum (video tapes have not replaced the theatre
experience), but the numbers of people and the means they can be reached
via the web is extraordinairy.  The web will not be simply a marketing or
advertising tool for the museum, it will in many ways replace and
suppliment a physical visit.

Jim



Jim Angus
Acting Director of Information Technology and Hypermedia Programs
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA  90007

voice:  213/744-3317
fax:    214/746-2999
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